Monday, 11 August 2014

500 Words From...is a series of guest
posts from authors, in which they talk about their newly-published
books. Here Harriette Rinaldi explains the background behind Four Faces of Truth, published by Fireship Press.

Harriette Rinaldi, an American, had a
long career with the Central Intelligence Agency. During her time as a spook
she undertook many challenging overseas assignments, and held several
leadership positions – she founded the CIA’s Women’s Leadership Forum.

Four
Faces of Truth is Harriette’s first novel. It is
set in Cambodia, from the early 1960s until the present day – so including the
time of the rise and dominance of the Khmer Rouge. It interweaves the stories
of four narrators; like the four faces which stare out from the towers of the
famous Bayon temple, at Angkor Thom, each narrator views the world from a
different perspective.

Hem Narong, a former Buddhist monk,
serves on the staff of General Lon Nol, the first President
of the Khmer Republic. He sees how the General’s ineptitude and failings as a
leader facilitate the rise of the Khmer Rouge.

Sophana, a young graduate of an elite
secondary school, joins the Woman’s Communist Organization. She is ultimately betrayed by the revolution
she once supported, loses her entire family in the killing fields, and
continues to be haunted by brooding shadows and visions of the horrors she has
witnessed.

Eng Maly, a practitioner of traditional
Chinese medicine, specializes in diseases of the mind. Maly treats Pol Pot’s
wife, Khieu Ponnary, for paranoid schizophrenia and accompanies Ponnary on
dangerous treks across the country on behalf of the revolution. Maly witnesses Ponnary's malign influence on her husband.

Marcel Blanchette, a French-Canadian
archaeologist restoring ancient temples, must today contend with the damage
inflicted on Cambodia’s architectural heritage and natural resources by the
Khmer Rouge. He decries efforts by contemporary Cambodian rulers to foster national
amnesia regarding the crimes of the Khmer Rouge, which he terms patriacide - the attempted annihilation of an entire country and its people,
including its collective memory.

So: 500 Words From….Harriette Rinaldi

Why did I decide to write this novel now, almost forty years after the
Khmer Rouge seized power in Cambodia? Because too many people throughout the world are
either unaware of or have forgotten about the horrible crimes of the Khmer
Rouge. There are important parallels and lessons that apply to what is
happening elsewhere in the world today.

I lived in Cambodia during the 1970s,
met key government as well as Khmer Rouge personalities (including the sister
of Pol Pot’s wife), and was able to travel to many parts of the country despite
the ongoing war between government and Khmer Rouge forces. I had a unique
opportunity to observe the folly of U.S. policies and the failings of Cambodian
government leaders, and the beauty of Cambodia’s amazing natural resources, in
contrast to the looming specter of a nightmarish regime intent on destroying
everything and everyone in its path.

I used the vehicle of historical fiction
to tell this story and to present it through the voices of four fictional narrators whose lives often intersect, forming a unified mosaic.
Books by historians about the Khmer Rouge are largely inaccessible to lay
readers, while memoirs by Khmer Rouge survivors are often devoid of any wider
historical context. My goal was to enable the lay reader to understand not only
the suffering of the Khmer people, but also the overarching
political and cultural influences that led to the rise of the Khmer Rouge.

To write this book, I had access to
unique source material, including the recently declassified correspondence
between U.S. President Richard Nixon and Cambodian President Lon Nol. I also
enjoyed full access to the treasure trove of information found in the Khmer
Rouge secret archives in the 1990s by a Yale University team led by historian
Ben Kiernan, who encouraged me to write this book.

Another topic briefly touched upon by
historians and journalists is the extent to which Pol Pot was influenced by his
wife, who is usually described as mentally unstable or emotionally fragile. In
fact, she suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. I used material from a
variety of sources, including doctors who treated her in Beijing, to demonstrate
just how she enabled her husband’s descent
into evil while she was gradually consumed by madness.

Friday, 8 August 2014

New from Ethos Press, in Singapore, Troublemaker is a collection of
journalist and blogger Bertha Henson’s columns. They represent her take on the
news of the day, spanning political and social happenings in Singapore from the
middle of 2012. Sometimes serious, sometimes hilarious, Bertha brings a questioning eye to news commentary, zooming in on issues
that provoke controversy.

About the Author

Bertha Henson worked in the Singapore Press Holdings
(SPH) stable of newspapers for 26 years, finally as Associate Editor of The Straits Times, Singapore’s national
English-language broadsheet. In 2012, she left the organisation to start her
own media consultancy,

Newsmakers, and to teach at the National University
of Singapore. She started her blog, Bertha Harian (Bertha's Daily) the day after she left
SPH, and launched Breakfast Network,
a semi‐professional news and views
website with friends and undergraduates in early 2013. The website closed at the end of the year because she and fellow editors declined to meet registration
requirements then newly-imposed by Singapore’s Media Development Authority.

Thursday, 7 August 2014

Byron turned on mostly perfect winter weather for the Festival, attended
by thousands of readers who reveled in relaxed literature by the beach at many
of the sell-out sessions.

Festival Director Edwina Johnson is thrilled her first Festival Program
was so well received by the local and wider community.‘The whole event ran
incredibly smoothly, our volunteers once again doing Byron proud.’

According to Johnson the convivial 2014 tone was set by the gregarious
Festival authors from Opening Night at the Byron Bay Surf Club. ‘Delta Kay’s
welcome to country was incredibly moving – you could hear a pin drop in the
room and Tim Eddy’s short film summarising our Five Writers, Five Towns in
Five Days regional literary tour was a triumph. People didn’t want to
leave.’

Johnson says the audience for Jeanette Winterson’s Keynote Address was
so large it spilled out the back of the marquee for 10 metres.
‘Jeanette’s speech, The Stories We Tell captivated the estimated
1000 people at her session and moved many to tears. She received a rousing
standing ovation and afterwards, the book signing queue stretched out and
around the bookshop.’

The crowd at the Andrew Denton and Andrew Knight conversation with Geoff
Lemon also spilled out of the tent. ‘Bringing the Andrews together for a
session has been a long-held dream of Festival Founder Chris Hanley and it was
worth the wait,’ says Johnson. ‘The tent continuously erupted in laughter as
the privileged audience listened in on the conversation between these two
extraordinary men.’

Collins Bookseller Gabi Calder says the quality of the program and the
willingness of the audience to engage with authors and their work resulted in a
roaring trade for the book store. ‘At the end of our first day Womankind Magazine was our biggest
seller. Jeff in Venice by Geoff Dyer, Why Be Happy When You Could Be
Normal by Jeanette Winterson and The Stellar prize-winning book The
Forgotten Rebels of Eureka by Claire Wright were also top-drawcards.
In fact, all of Jeanette Winterson’s books sold incredibly well all
weekend.’

‘Bob Brown was the biggest seller of any Festival book we’d ever had,’
says Calder. ‘Rabia Siddique’s memoir Equal Justice sold
incredibly well. Malcolm Fraser’s Dangerous Allies was also a big hit and the
engagement during his book signing was wonderful to watch. The Festival vibe
was just buzzing and it is great to see patrons being inspired to buy so many
books.’

Johnson says nearly all of the off-site feature events sold out. ‘We
were still being inundated with requests to attend the sold out Liner Notes as
we opened the doors. It was the talk of the Festival on Saturday morning – a
brilliant literary cabaret led by the hugely talented Michael Nolan.’

It seems the Byron Writers Festival is not only a favourite for
festivalgoers but also with authors. ‘So many authors pulled me aside over the
weekend to tell me Byron was their favourite festival,’ says Johnson.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author David Finkel found the
surroundings astonishing and humbling. ‘Come for the books, stay for the
weather’, Finkel says. ‘It was nice to see how thoughtful people are here. It's
been great. I’m glad I came.’

One of Antony Loewenstein’s Festival highlights was seeing the keynote
address. ‘Jeanette Winterson was eloquent, funny and witty. She’s a writer who
makes listeners love literature. Set in the beautiful, mostly sunny, Byron,
authors discussed everything from Palestine to Gaza, to disaster capitalism,
engaging audiences who get angry and are passionate.’

Kathryn Heyman says her biggest highlight was swimming in the ocean with
Claire Wright early one morning. ‘I found the whole Festival experience to be
be utterly blissful. On my way to do Salvation through Story session
with Alex Miller, Shady Cosgrove with Geordie Williamson, I found myself
feeling uttering transported. I was in a state of bliss. The conversation with
Geordie was really fabulous, it felt rich and meaty.’

Local writer Martin Chatterton enjoyed the Evening with John Safran
and Father Bob Maguire held in Lennox Head. ‘It’s great to see the Festival
spreading its wings and reaching new audiences. This was the best ever
program.'

The Festival also welcomes many publishing executives. Beverley Cousins
from Random loves the relaxed atmosphere of the Byron Festival. ‘This is my
first time in Byron and I love the way you can move easily between sessions and
dip into different topics. It feels very inclusive.'

Johnson says she has so many ideas for the 2015 Festival. ‘Even as
I close the marquee flaps on this event, my mind is churning with all the
exciting ideas for next year. I can’t wait to start inviting authors.’